Countrywide Home Loan Commercial

                                                                          Super Size Mine Please

While watching Television last night, a commercial from Countrywide Home Loans came on. I don't watch a lot of TV but I had not seen it before so I am going to assume it is a fairly new commercial. Maybe you have seen it. It is a spokesman for Countrywide touting what sounds like a new loan. They call it a "Combo Loan".

I don't know about you but the first thing I thought about was driving though McDonald's and wondering if I could "Super Size" that loan. There was something about watching that commercial as a Mortgage broker that gave me the creeps.

This commercial came across to me like the subprime mess and loose lending standards and the banks making a buck at the borrower's expense never happened or even made the headlines. This commercial looks to me like they shot it two or three years ago and just decided to air it.

This "Combo Loan" is just a new name for and old loan. Countrywide is trying to generate refinance loans. They want you to refinance your current loan and increase the amount you owe on your home by rolling in your credit card, auto, or any other outstanding debt you might have to make your overall monthly payment smaller.

Don't get me wrong there are many times that this makes good financial sense.

I guess it's just the way the commercial came across to me. More like a credit card commercial "come on, get in more debt"! This whole mentality is one of the major reasons the housing market is in the shape it is today. This mentality is what caused so many people to loose their homes, including people that have owned their homes prior to the housing bubble even forming.

With all the media attention, the government is now looking at ways to revamp the whole mortgage lending system. There has even been talk about eliminating mortgage brokers all together (though I doubt that will happen). While there are bad or unscrupulous mortgage brokers, there are many Mortgage Planning Specialists who strive to adhere to a higher standard of learning and ethics.

What we can do as mortgage brokers is shop all the lenders and secure the best rates and programs for a clients needs. Unlike the individual bank who is going to approve or deny the borrower as to their own programs and pricing. Not only this but banks want to increase their bottom line by selling, selling, selling. Selling you things that is beneficial to their bottom line, but may not be beneficial to yours. ...........Kind of like a "Combo Loan".